Six Sigma For Dummies
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Simple linear regression is becoming a common activity. Any Sigma Six practitioner with Microsoft Excel, for example, can take data from an X and a Y variable and almost immediately create a scatter plot of the two. Then with just a couple of clicks, the program automatically derives the fitted line for your data. If you have Excel, try this process on the automobile weight versus fuel economy study:

Make/Model Curb Weight (lbs.) Fuel Economy (mpg)
Toyota Camry 3,140 29
Toyota Sequoia 4,875 17
Honda Civic 2,449 35
Land Rover Discovery 4,742 16
Mercedes-Benz S500 4,170 20
VW Jetta Wagon 3,078 27
Chrysler 300 3,715 22
Chevrolet Venture 3,838 23
Hyundai Tiburon 2,940 27
Dodge Ram 2500 Quad 6,039 11
  1. Enter the data from the table into Excel as two columns of data — one for the curb weight (X) data and another for the fuel economy (Y) data.

  2. Select the entered data in the spreadsheet and create what Excel calls an XY (scatter) plot.

  3. Right-click on the plotted data in the graph and select Add Trendline from the menu that pops up; select the Linear option and click OK.

    The best fit line with the correctly calculated parameters is automatically added to your graph!

    If you double-click on this fitted line, you see options to display the equation for the line and to display the coefficient of determination R2. You can see the results of these display options.

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In addition to Excel, Minitab, JMP, and other statistical analysis software tools provide tremendous detail and make simple linear regression almost fun!

About This Article

This article is from the book:

About the book authors:

Craig Gygi is Executive VP of Operations at MasterControl, a leading company providing software and services for best practices in automating and connecting every stage of quality/regulatory compliance, through the entire product life cycle. He is an operations executive and internationally recognized Lean Six Sigma thought leader and practitioner. Bruce Williams is Vice President of Pegasystems, the world leader in business process management. He is a leading speaker and presenter on business and technology trends, and is co-author of Six Sigma Workbook for Dummies, Process Intelligence for Dummies, BPM Basics for Dummies and The Intelligent Guide to Enterprise BPM. Neil DeCarlo was President of DeCarlo Communications.

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